Hello,
Welcome.
Today's meditation is entitled,
Managing Your Anxiety Really.
If you're like me,
You suffer bouts of anxiety.
They come out of nowhere.
The heart starts to pound,
The voice starts to get choppy,
The breath feels short,
The stomach feels nauseous,
And it seems we can't get enough air.
But rest assured we have tools within us to mitigate its overwhelm and ownership on us.
This tool is the breath.
This tool can be counting.
This tool can be hooking into a mantra.
So come to your comfortable seat.
Take a deep belly breath in and a long and soothing breath out.
If you feel safe,
You're welcome to close your eyes.
Now ideally we can begin to practice preventive measures around anxiety.
I grew up in a household with my father as a physician and he was always keen on practicing preventive health,
Preventive medicine.
Sleeping in your own bed,
Getting a good night's sleep,
Eating healthy,
Pure food,
Exercising vigorously every day,
Saying your prayers.
This might not appeal to you,
But that was part of our growing up daily habit.
Reading,
Playing hard together,
Doing things outdoors.
These are all staples in healthy mental practice.
And May being Mental Health Awareness Month,
Let's focus on some healthy mental practices to optimize this brain of ours.
Push down through your base and lift your heart high.
Press it forward in your chest and breathe.
Release your breath.
Again,
A big belly breath in deep in the belly,
The shoulders remain down and soft and release.
Exhale.
One more time,
Pressing down through the base.
Lift your heart high.
Breathe in sensibly slowly releasing out.
Follow it all the way out.
So breathing is a way to mitigate anxiety,
Holding,
Suffocating,
Trapping you.
Counting is another way to release anxieties grip on you.
So silently together,
We will count backwards from 100.
Take a big belly breath in and a long and soothing breath out,
Drop into your bones and begin privately,
Quietly silently to yourself.
See the number 100,
99,
98,
97,
96,
95 and carry on your own pace and cadence.
Take your time.
Take a deep breath in and a long and soothing breath out.
Deep breath in and a long and soothing breath out.
Really finishing up.
Feel your body be in your body.
No rush even as we close to the end.
And now continue to sit and drop into your bones,
Experiencing your physicality,
Your disposition,
And your emotionality now that you've practiced two very powerful anxiety-reducing techniques.
The third is a mantra,
Saying words repetitively over and over and over again to reduce your anxiety.
Today I'll choose two very simple words that allow us to achieve enlightenment if we practice for years and years and years,
But every second we can taste a step closer to release of fear and anxiety.
And these two words today will be so hum.
So hum.
So hum.
Repeating them quietly to yourself.
As you're busy memorizing the words,
Saying the words,
Also expand your awareness to release any muscle tension.
Feel your belly continue to breathe in and out.
Notice the chest softening.
So hum.
So hum.
So hum.
The jaw is soft.
The muscles of the face are light and relaxing.
You feel the air in your skin and the anxiety melt away.
Namaste.
